In the new edition of the Princeton Review's annual guidebook, "The Best 357 Colleges," Sweet Briar College is ranked in four top-20 category lists including "Best Overall Academic Experience for Undergraduates" and "Beautiful Campus."

In the student-based survey, Sweet Briar - at No. 14 - outranked all other women's colleges for "Best Overall Academic Experience" in the Academics category. SBC is also ranked No. 5 for "Beautiful Campus" (Quality of Life), No. 9 for "Best Bargains" (private schools; Administration), and No. 12 for "Class Discussions Encouraged" (Academics).

The new rankings and profiles were posted at the Princeton Review web site www.princetonreview.com on Monday, Aug. 16, and the annually updated guide went on sale the next day. The publication reported that more than half a million people visited its Web site last year on the first day the rankings were posted.

The Princeton Review survey asks students 70 questions about their school's academics, campus life, and student body, as well as their study hours, politics, and opinions. This edition's rankings are based on surveys of more than 110,000 students at the 357 colleges in the book during the 2003-04 year and/or previous two school years.